Sars one year on

Bella Dave considers the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome

By:
Bella Dave,
Dominic E Dywer

In late 2002, reports of a new severe respiratory disease began to emerge from Guangdong in southern China. Now defined as severe acute respiratory disease (SARS), explosive outbreaks in Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Canada, and China brought it international attention in early 2003. As the first serious new infectious disease of this century, it was unusual in its high morbidity and mortality, and took full advantage of the opportunities provided by a world of international travel and hospital environments. By July 2003, 8437 cases of SARS had been reported worldwide, leading to 813 deaths.1

SARS causes fever then rapidly progressive respiratory compromise, chills, muscle aches, headache, loss of appetite, and diarrhoea--similar to influenza and other causes of atypical pneumonia. The cause of SARS is a new coronavirus, almost identical to viruses isolated from palm civet cats, a delicacy in southern China, and other wild animals from food markets in the